Yemen’s future after Saleh worries U.S. officials
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 6th, 2011 4:30 am by HL
Yemen’s future after Saleh worries U.S. officials
The flight of Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh to Saudi Arabia deprives the United States of a fitful ally in the fight against al-Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate and injects new uncertainty into counterterrorism operations that were already hampered by the country’s bloody internal strife, according to Yemen and security experts.
While Saudi Arabia, with U.S. backing, will almost certainly prevent Saleh’s return to Yemen, it is unclear who will replace him and whether there will be a change in attitude toward American efforts to target Islamic militants in the country.
Gates discusses troop withdrawal in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR— Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that the date for withdrawal of the full 30,000-troop surge in Afghanistan is even more important than the number of troops who leave next month.
During his farewell tour of military bases in Afghanistan, Gates said it’s “really not so much about where you start” that matters but the pace of the withdrawal over the next two years and when the surge troops will be leaving Afghanistan.
“What’s the bookend? Where are we headed? What’s the ramp look like?” Gates told reporters at Camp Dwyer in Helmand province. “I think that will be part of the discussion.”
Among GOP, anti-tax orthodoxy runs deep
The Republican Party once had a home for the thinking of Tom Coburn, Mike Crapo and Saxby Chambliss. But that party is long gone.
The three U.S. senators banded together a few months ago in support of higher tax revenue as a means of balancing the federal budget. Even with drastic spending cuts, they concluded, Washington could not vanquish its soaring $14.3 trillion debt without additional income.
Such reasoning was common in the GOP circa 1963, when Republicans denounced tax cuts proposed by President John F. Kennedy as a road to red ink and rampant inflation. But today’s GOP adheres to a “no new taxes” orthodoxy that has proved far more powerful than the desire to balance the budget. As House Speaker John A. Boehner has said: Raising taxes is “unacceptable and a non-starter.”
Santorum set to join Republican presidential field with western Pennsylvania announcement
SOMERSET, Pa. — Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was set to announce on Monday what has been expected for months: He is running for president.
Santorum, the former No. 3 Republican in the U.S. Senate and a favorite among his party’s anti-abortion rights bloc, planned to make official his White House aspirations from the western Pennsylvania coal fields where his Italian immigrant grandfather worked. He has already hired a small staff and has made frequent visits to early voting states New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina.
Some gay couples seek green cards in final effort to fight deportation in light of changes
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — Faced with losing the life they’ve built together in the dusty California desert town of Cathedral City, Doug Gentry and Alex Benshimol are making a last-ditch effort to stave off the looming threat of deportation.
To a large degree, the couple is stuck. While the American information technology consultant and Venezuelan pet groomer wed at a romantic Connecticut ceremony last year, the federal government won’t recognize the marriage between the two men — and as a result, won’t approve their application for a green card.
